Icelandair reports 9% passenger increase, PLAY achieves 68% growth in October

Icelandic airlines Icelandair and PLAY Airlines see strong passenger growth

Icelandair: In October 2023, Icelandair carried 364,000 passengers, marking a 9% increase compared to the previous year. Year-to-date, the airline transported approximately 3.7 million passengers, an 18% growth over the same period in the previous year. In October, the load factor was 81.5%, improving by 1.3 percentage points year-on-year, with 83% of flights arriving within 15 minutes of their scheduled time. Icelandair CEO Bogi Nils Bogason expressed satisfaction with the increase in passenger numbers and the airline’s performance, including a recent award received.

PLAY Airlines: PLAY reported carrying 154,479 passengers in October, a remarkable 68% growth from the previous year. The airline achieved an 83% load factor in October 2023, compared to 81.9% in the same month of 2022. Additionally, PLAY maintained an on-time performance of 85.8%. Of PLAY’s October passengers, 28.4% were departing from Iceland, 33.9% were traveling to Iceland, and 37.6% were connecting passengers. PLAY introduced Space seats to increase ancillary revenue and improve customer experience. In Q3 2023, PLAY reported a profit of $5.2 million, a significant improvement from the net loss in the same quarter of the previous year. PLAY’s CEO, Birgir Jonsson, highlighted the airline’s strong performance and readiness for the upcoming winter season.

Both Icelandair and PLAY Airlines are experiencing positive growth in passenger numbers, demonstrating their strong positions in the aviation industry.